First Aid Question: super glue for deep cuts?

Bri in Chi

Bri in Chi

Joined
May 28, 2003
Messages
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Do any cantinistas have factual information about using super glue (cyanoacrylate) for treating seriously deep cuts? The kind that can occur when playing with sharp knives :rolleyes: I have heard that it is used by emergency medical personel for closing wounds, but don't have any details. Facts and real-life experiences only, please. :confused:
 
I got my hand glued up last week, but the cut was only 1 inch long, and .25 inch thick. They said I would've needed stitches if the cut wasn't at such an angle. It was weird (stuff fell off already) because I had to wear a rubber glove in the shower. I have now learned not to catch Beckers.
 
There's several different types of 'super glue'/CA
Some are suitable & others are not.

Here's a thread that leads off with a link to an article
on medical cyanoacrylate wound closure.
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212855

small extract of article
"Medical grade products currently available contain either butyl, isobutyl or octyl esters. They are bacteriostatic and painless to apply when used as directed, produce minimal thermal reaction when applied to dry skin and break down harmlessly in tissue. They are essentially inert once dry. Butyl products are rigid when dry, but provide a strong bond. Available octyl products are more flexible when dry, but produce a weaker bond.

When used for repair, ideally the wound to be closed is fresh, clean, fairly shallow, with straight edges that lie together on their own. The glue is applied to bridge over the closed edges; it should not be used within the wound (on raw surfaces), where it will impair epithelization."
 
I have used Super Glue(cyanoacrylate) for topical wounds and found it works great.
Closed up a slash across the palm of my own hand in the wee hours of the AM instead of going to an ER....looked as good after a week as if it was well stiched (figure it could have used about 6 stiches)
I had to keep it dry, the hand bandaged and used some SteriStrips to hold it all together.
After a few days I opened the bandage and applied more glue to the edges of the SteriStrips.
There is a newer compond available 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate specificaly for skin closure, I have no experience with this one.
Rule of thumb for skin glue is that iot is used for closing skin, preferably without tension on it, it is NOT to be used for deep wounds or wounds in which the edges cannot be approximated well.

Heres a link that might help you:
http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic375.htm

For deep wounds here is an interesting product, sorry I have no experience with this one.
http://www.quikclot.com/

Hope this helps
 
C/A glue is great for clean, knife cuts. It basically melts the skin back together. You could use it on a deep cut, but only on the surface....ie. pinch it real tight and put on enough glue to keep it from pulling back apart. Guys do this in the ShopTalk Forum all the time. I have better supplies myself...;)....so I haven't had to resort to this personally, but I have seen it used on others.

The reason you only want it "skin deep" is that if you let it get into the tissue it will form a "block" there in the tissue and you'll have a scar under the skin.

It really works best on the skin only.
 
That work for you, Brian?

My buddy Byron Quick (who's posted here once or twice using my login, but signed his name to his posts), is an ER nurse. He tells me that some ER's keep super glue on hand, that it's "medical grade" or somesuch, but that the only difference is, it's guaranteed to be sterile. (Not something I'd be especially worried about in a medium that would not contain anything bacteria could live in.)

He glued up a good friend's hand when she was incautious drawing her Puffin, around New Year's! :D Healed fine. Probably about 3 stitches would have been required.

John
 
Learn to stitch, it general it works much better than gluing which is more likely to get infected, can't drain, etc. .

-Cliff
 
I've hear that too. A buddy of mone (Trevor--U remember!) has this stiff that is called liquid skin or somesuch that works i the same manner. it comes off naturally, or can be solvented off later (mild holsehold solvent that I cannot recall now).

Keith
 
Ive used liquid skin before, comes off with rubbing alcohol. Alot thinner than regular superglue. Ive heard certain glues have chemicals that you dont want in you, which is the reason behind the "medical grade glue". Then again I hear lots of things when it gets cloudy :eek: :rolleyes: :p :footinmou Anyways, didnt like the liquid skin, didnt breath and things got puss filled so took it off.
 
An ER dr. used some of that liquid stitches stuff on my temple when it was grazed by a philipshead screwdriver a couple summers ago (don't ask. just know it's how i got the nickname "Dangerous"). Worked great except that it got stuck in my hair, but i would rather have a little glue in my hair than have the area shaved for stitches. pretty good stuff.


~Jake
 
I would personally want to clean a cut before closing it.

Liquid skin didn't work very well for me. Not nearly in the same class as super glue.

John
 
Is Liquid Skin the stuff that can be sprayed on and it forms some kind of yellowish layer ?
If so, I have used that stuff before. We went surfing on a reef and really tore our feet and legs apart (forgot to bring booties). We figured that since we're gonna stay for a couple more days and the place where we were staying wasn't too clean we'd better close the wounds. That stuff inflicted the gnarliest pain I ever felt. Pouring H2O2 on open cuts isn't near as bad.

whatever, as for the superglue - i have used it yesterday, on a minor cut. Probably wouldn't have needed to glue it, but I didn't want to leave blood on other people's stuff. It's merely on the skin, and a very good solution for cuts in places where a bandaid wouldn't be very easy to apply, like on top of the thumb.

regards, Keno
 
Keno,

Liquid Skin is a brush-on; almost looks like the little bottles of salacylic acid to put on warts.

John
 
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